talking with judge Hinojosa about the future of the democratic party in Texas

talking with judge Hinojosa about the future of the democratic party in Texas

Photo: sadlerforsenate.com

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Sadler with Wendy Davis

Sadler with Wendy Davis

Photo: sadlerforsenate.com

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U.S. Senate Candidate Paul Sadler speaks during the the 2012 Texas Democratic Party State Convention at the George R. Brown Convention Center Friday, June 8, 2012, in Houston.
( James Nielsen / Chronicle )

U.S. Senate Candidate Paul Sadler speaks during the the 2012 Texas Democratic Party State Convention at the George R. Brown Convention Center Friday, June 8, 2012, in Houston.
( James Nielsen / Chronicle )

U.S. Senate candidate Paul Sadler (D) holds 10-month-old Pablo Hinojosa-Donisi, son of Austin ISD school board candidate Gina Hinojosa, during a fish fry at the American Federation of Labor - Congress of Industrial Organizations in Austin, TX on Fri., Aug. 31, 2012.
Ashley Landis for the Houston Chronicle less

U.S. Senate candidate Paul Sadler (D) holds 10-month-old Pablo Hinojosa-Donisi, son of Austin ISD school board candidate Gina Hinojosa, during a fish fry at the American Federation of Labor - Congress of ... more

Photo: Ashley Landis / copyright 2012 Ashley Landis

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U.S. Senate candidate Paul Sadler (D) speaks to supporters during a fish fry at the American Federation of Labor - Congress of Industrial Organizations in Austin, TX on Fri., Aug. 31, 2012.
Ashley Landis for the Houston Chronicle less

U.S. Senate candidate Paul Sadler (D) speaks to supporters during a fish fry at the American Federation of Labor - Congress of Industrial Organizations in Austin, TX on Fri., Aug. 31, 2012.
Ashley Landis for ... more

Photo: Ashley Landis / copyright 2012 Ashley Landis

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TAMPA, FL - AUGUST 28: Senate Republican Candidate, Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz speaks during the Republican National Convention at the Tampa Bay Times Forum on August 28, 2012 in Tampa, Florida. Today is the first full session of the RNC after the start was delayed due to Tropical Storm Isaac. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) less

TAMPA, FL - AUGUST 28: Senate Republican Candidate, Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz speaks during the Republican National Convention at the Tampa Bay Times Forum on August 28, 2012 in Tampa, Florida. Today ... more

Photo: Spencer Platt / Getty Images

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TAMPA, FL - AUGUST 28: Senate Republican Candidate, Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz speaks during the Republican National Convention at the Tampa Bay Times Forum on August 28, 2012 in Tampa, Florida. Today is the first full session of the RNC after the start was delayed due to Tropical Storm Isaac. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) less

TAMPA, FL - AUGUST 28: Senate Republican Candidate, Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz speaks during the Republican National Convention at the Tampa Bay Times Forum on August 28, 2012 in Tampa, Florida. Today ... more

Photo: Spencer Platt / Getty Images

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Ted Cruz, U.S. Senate candidate from Texas speaks at the second day of the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida, Tuesday, August 28, 2012. (Lionel Hahn/Abaca Press/MCT)

Ted Cruz, U.S. Senate candidate from Texas speaks at the second day of the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida, Tuesday, August 28, 2012. (Lionel Hahn/Abaca Press/MCT)

U.S. Senate Candidate Ted Cruz, left, and his wife Heidi Cruz wave as they take the stage for a speech during the Texas Republican Convention in Fort Worth, Texas, Saturday, June 9, 2012.

U.S. Senate Candidate Ted Cruz, left, and his wife Heidi Cruz wave as they take the stage for a speech during the Texas Republican Convention in Fort Worth, Texas, Saturday, June 9, 2012.

Photo: LM Otero / AP

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U.S. Senate Candidate Ted Cruz, left, and his wife Heidi Cruz wave after his speech during the Texas Republican Convention in Fort Worth, Texas, Saturday, June 9, 2012. Cruz and David Dewhurst are locked in a fierce fight for the Republican nomination to fill Texas' open U.S. Senate seat. (AP Photo/LM Otero) less

U.S. Senate Candidate Ted Cruz, left, and his wife Heidi Cruz wave after his speech during the Texas Republican Convention in Fort Worth, Texas, Saturday, June 9, 2012. Cruz and David Dewhurst are locked in ... more

Ted Cruz visits a polling place at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church on primary day.

Ted Cruz visits a polling place at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church on primary day.

Photo: Erin Mulvaney / Houston Chronicle

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Former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz

Former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz

Photo: Mayra Beltran / Houston Chronicle

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Ted Cruz campaigns with the Tea Party Express.

Ted Cruz campaigns with the Tea Party Express.

Photo: Associated Press

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Ted Cruz addresses a crowd of about 20 supporters at a restaurant in Temple on Saturday, May 26. Cruz vowed that, given a runoff against Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, he would win the Republican nomination.

Ted Cruz addresses a crowd of about 20 supporters at a restaurant in Temple on Saturday, May 26. Cruz vowed that, given a runoff against Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, he would win the Republican nomination.

In a day-long special report, Texas on the Potomac is examining the influence of money in the Texas Senate race, with a look at the numbers and a ranking of the top 10 states with the most donors to each Republican runoff candidate.

The top lobbyist contributor to federal campaigns this election season funneled about $2,500 into Ted Cruz's campaign. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

The conservative favorite scored the money from C. Boyden Gray, a lobbyist who has donated $227,300 to Republican candidates this election cycle — the most of any lobbyist in the country, according to data released by the Center for Responsive Politics.

Cruz also picked up $2,500 from Gray’s family members.

Gray, a former ambassador to the European Union who is also a partner the Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firm Gray & Schmitz LLP, served as legal counsel to George H. W. Bush during his vice presidency and after he entered the Oval Office.

He is a co-chairman of FreedomWorks, a conservative group that has poured more than $120,000 into the Texas Senate race in support of Cruz, according to Federal Election Commission records analyzed by the Houston Chronicle.

The former Texas solicitor general additionally saw $2,000 in contributions from family members of Jeffrey MacKinnon, a lobbyist who ranked No. 20 on the’ list of top lobbyist donors to 2012 campaigns. But Mackinnon’s family members also sent $500 to the campaign coffers of his opponent, establishment-backed Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst.

Family members of Wayne Berman, the lobbyist who sent the sixth-largest sum to federal campaigns and served as a senior adviser to former President George W. Bush and former vice president Dick Cheney during their transition into the White House, also donated $500 to Dewhurst.